Bounty Huntin' Aboard the Enterprise
by mg05
Summary: The Enterprise finds a man from an alternate past who is having big problems adjusting to the new environment. Data gets what he deserves and a tough Admiral gets tamed. Contains cursing and hinted at sexuality. Reviews would be appreciated...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The show "Star Trek: The Next Generation", the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and the film "Blade Runner" are all property of their respective owners. Or something like that. I won't get any profit out of this story, for legal reasons and because it's really not worth anything.

Introduction: This story takes place within one of the last years of TNG, but with Pulaski as doctor (in _my_ book, after Q transformed Crusher into a Golden Retriever dog, she stayed this way!).

This is my first story, I basically wrote it to improve my English skills. So it's not written perfectly, but I'm sure it's readable and on par with most of the other stories here. I hope you, the readers, enjoy it and do not get too offended by it's content... When you've finished it, please give me a feedback! Thanks a lot.

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Chapter One: Capt. Picard is Having a Bad Day

"Captain's log, stardate 45283.0. We're still in orbit of Nerewia II, as we were for the last five days. It is indeed a very boring mission as there is nothing much to study on the planet, the only interesting thing about this desert-like world being the undefinable radiaton it's emitting. Mr. Data and the science division are intensely scanning and trying to analyze it but until now, nothing has come from it. In fourthy-one hours, the U.S.S. Desperado is expected to arrive here and continue on searching the planet's strange readings, finally letting the Enterprise travel on to tasks more... appropriate for a ship of her importance. I doubt, though, that a ship as ill-equipped as the Desperado can find anything here when even the Enterprise with our sophisticated scanners is not able to. Anyway, I stopped trying to see a sense in Starfleet HQ's orders a long time ago."

Picard stood up from his chair, started walking towards the door, then stopped once again. "Computer, delete my last remarks from captain's log and put them into my person log instead, will you?" "Confirmed." The Captain was pretty much upset this day. Albeit being used to mundane missions, this one was the most boring assignment in the whole last year. He would rather have escorted some Klingon princess through the quadrant, while about as stupid as what he was doing here, there could at least grow some adventure out of that. Realizing that he'd already spent more than two hours in his ready room, Picard decided it was about time to return to the bridge, this being his shift after all.

"Status report."

"No extraordinary events, Captain. Scanners still working at optimum, all ships' systems ready." the nameless Lieutentant said as he moved away from the central chair, letting the boss take his place.

"Mr. Data, any news from the scanning front? Please tell me you found something interesting, I'm bored to death!"

The android replied in his usual annoying way: "If 'front' refers to our scanning efforts, the answer is negative, sir. We are still collecting data at maximum resolution and sensitivity but see ourselfes unable to find..."

"Great!" Picard interrupted his science officer mid-sentence. "I've heard enough. So there's no news, just as good."

Counselor Troi, looking concerned, started talking to the captain in a rather low voice, so that not everyone on the bridge had to hear her: "Captain Picard, you seem to be very unbalanced today. Is there anything worrying you? I feel you are..."

"Just shut the fuck up, damn it!", Picard broke in once again, very loud but in full control of his voice, "I'll tell you what's wrong with me. We have the strongest ship of whole Starfleet, and what are we doing with it? Scanning some mundane planet in the middle of nowhere, a planet that hardly supports life, without any natural resources to claim, in a position where it has less than zero strategical importance. In the meantime, the Romulans might as well cross the Neutral Zone and sneak into Earth's backyard and we wouldn't even be near enough to intercept in time!"

"Captain, as all command-level officers know, there has been a lot of Romulan activity in the sectors bordering Federation territory within the last three weeks, but it still is highly unlikely that the Star Empire starts a war against us. And we should not forget that the Enterprise's main mission is research, we are after all an exploration vessel and no heavy cruiser and that strange radiation on Nerewia II is an unique phenomenon never to be encountered before, well worth researching...", Data tried to appease, babbling on as Picard just shook his head and started walking back towards his room, his refuge from stupid people getting on his nerves.

He had almost reached the door, Data had already noticed the Captain's disinterest in his lecture and stopped talking, when the android spoke up again, this time trying to signal urgency and excitement by raising his voice.

"Captain! An object appeared on the surface of the planet, seemingly 'out of nowhere'. It is metallic, size about ten cubical metres. Obviously artificially manufactured, definitely no natural origins to it. Commencing further scans..."

Picard smiled briefly and returned to his chair. Finally a real mysterium worth putting some resources in finding out about it, he thought. Unknown radiation, pah, now he had a physical object, something real, maybe even a fascinating artefact on which he could use his well-respected knowledge about archeology, he speculated for the few seconds before science department came up with report about the scan.

------------

Rick Deckard woke up, very bright sunlight as he had never seen it in his entire life burning in his eyes. The last thing he remembered was parking his spinner in a backstreet, going through some of his files. He must have fallen asleep, he thought, but surely not for a long time, as he was still as tired as he had been before.

After about a minute, maybe less, his eyes had adjusted a little to the brightness and he could see where his car was standing: In the middle of a yellow-brownish desert, only very few vegetation around, mostly dry, brown bushes. Some midwestern state, he decided. But why were there no fallout clouds? And how did he get there?

Deckard opened the door and took a step out into the desert. Maybe this was some strange hallucination, a vision, and he might find a live animal here, what a delightful surprise that would be...

It took him only a few seconds until he started to feel the intoxication. He couldn't even manage to open the door to his spinners driver's seat again before he fell to the dusty ground, unconscious.

------------

"Sir, the object appears to be some kind of vehicle, type similiar to what was used on Earth some 300 years ago, and there is a life sign inside it. Readings indicate it to be that of a human male. I suggest we send a landing party to investigate the site, immediately."

Riker, who had just arrived on the bridge in time to hear Data's report, grunted: "Captain, may i handle this?" "Of course, proceed", Picard answered.

Touching his commbadge, the Commander ordered: "Mr. Worf, I need you and another security officer in transporter room one as soon as possible. Prepare tricorders, breathing masks and weapons for five persons. Riker, out. -Mr. Data, please come with me. And order one of the science officers at your disposal to join us, as well."

The away team lead by Commander Riker had quickly arrived and explored the site around the ancient vehicle. After beaming the man who was laying on the ground to the infirmary, they soon realised that there was nothing special about the vehicle or the surrounding area, so they decided to transfer the car to one of Enterprise's storage rooms for further studying and to end their brief mission on the ugly planet. "Good thing we're leaving this place already, it's much to bright here and it stinks", Worf remarked shortly before they beamed back up, all the others nodded, except for Data.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Bounty Huntin' Aboard the Enterprise

Waking up, Deckard found himself lying on a bed in a futuristic looking room. Afraid of having gone in some trap, he quickly sat up.

On the other side of the room, a middle-aged woman looked intrigued at a computer display, turning around towards him when she noticed that he was awake. "Pulaski to Picard. Our guest is now awake and physically well from what i can tell." "Very well, bring him to conference room one. I'd like to have the whole senior staff around when talking to him for the first time. Picard out."

"Where am I? Who are you?", Deckard inquired. "You're aboard the starship Enterprise. My name is Pulaski, I'm a doctor. We found you on the surface of Nerewia II... But, we better wait with these things until we're at the meeting, the Captain of this ship, Picard, wants to talk to you. Do you think you're well enough to walk a few steps?" "Whatever, I'm fine." "Good. Follow me."

Leaving the infirmary, Deckard noticed his escort consisting of two armed guards. "Am I your prisoner?", he asked. The doctor smiled and replied "No. We're just... cautious because we've seen that you had a weapon with you, standard procedure when dealing with unknown guests of your nature. You don't need to worry, we're very peaceful and friendly." Deckard grinned, nodded. Excellent, he thought, first they bring me to a strange desert, intoxicate me, then put me on a spaceship into custody and want to interrogate me, very friendly indeed. I wonder how many days have passed, if SFPD is already searching for me.

When entering the conference room, Deckard was shocked. "What's that?", he asked, pointing at the android. "Lieutenant Data, an android", Pulaski exclaimed. "And before you ask your next question: The person over there is Lieutenant Worf, he's a Klingon." Deckard hadn't noticed the brown-skinned monster sitting at the far side of the table before. Now even more shocked, he inquired: "Is he a mutant? What happened to his forehead?" "They're all like this, it's normal for Klingons. Now please sit down."

Picard started questioning the visitor. "Dr. Pulaski informed us that your body shows signs of being exposed to radiation for a long time. While there was an unknown radiation on the planet where we found you, type and duration indicate that whatever happened to you was _before_. Can you enlighten us about that?"

"Why, I was on earth of course..."

"Really? Well, the vehicle which arrived together with you, our engineers reported that it's most likely made by humans, but our archives have no data about it's exact type. Where exactly do you come from? And, more important, which year?"

Deckard was annoyed by these stupid questions. "I'm from San Francisco, as I'm sure you already know. This interrogation is a farce. My spinner is a standard police-issue duty vehicle. Ah yes, and the year is 2019. What the hell do you want from me? Why did you bring me to that desert, and now aboard this ship? Was it on Mars? Why do you play these games with me? You might as well just kill me, I have no information important enough for you people to play such a show on me."

"We're not playing any games with you", a bearded man in his thirties said. He had some brutish quality reminding Deckard about his superior. Bryant must have been similar to this man when he was younger. "We didn't bring you to this planet, you just arrived there out of nowhere when we were nearby, by chance. If we hadn't taken you to our ship, you would have died within a few hours because of the poisonous atmosphere. And it's not Mars. This planet is called Nerewia II, we're many lightyears away from earth. And this is not the year 2019, we're well into the 24th century."

Deckard looked puzzled, he didn't believe what they told him.

Captain Picard asked the next question. "Tell us about your job, am I right that you are a police officer? The objects we found in your vehicle indicate this, as well."

"I'm a bounty hunter assigned to northern California. I'm not going to tell you anything more about my profession. Not before I know who or _what_ you guys are and what you're doing with me."

"According to our history records, there were no 'bounty hunters' in California in the year 2019", Data said, half askingly.

"I bet you'd want me to believe that!", Deckard replied cynically. "And why do you look so.. flashy?"

Data tried to emulate the warmest voice he could accomplish: "I am an android, I look this way because I was built this way. I suppose you have never seen an artificial lifeform before?"

"Oh I've seen a lot of androids, but they all did a much better job at looking human than you do. What are you? An old K-3 model? They haven't been in use for at least ten years..."

"I see you are very interested in androids, Mr. Deckard", the Captain interrupted, "But for the moment, I'd like you to leave the room for an instant so that I can confer with my staff about what we just learned from you. We might want to ask you some more questions in about ten minutes, if that's alright for you?"

"Whatever you say, 'Captain'", Deckard answered, "but would you allow me to take that entity you refer to as Data with me, I've some questions I'd need to have answered, myself."

After exchanging some glances with his servants, Picard complied. "I agree, the sooner we can solve out all our questions, the sooner we might be able to find out about the nature of this encounter."

"And may I take my suitcase with me for that, there are some tools inside it I need to use..."

"Very well. Make it so."

"Captain! I must protest!", the Klingon shouted, "There is a weapon in that suitcase, it's an inacceptable security risk to leave Mr. Data alone with an armed bandit."

Picard made a dismissing gesture with his hands, "No, I think Mr. Deckard is not a bandit. He is confused in this situation, that's just understandable. I think he is a reasonable man who won't do anything stupid, and Mr. Data is well capable of taking care of his own security."

Deckard and Data went into conference room number two, while the rest stayed and started discussing the background of their strange visitor.

------------

The lights in conference room two dimmed, Rick Deckard and Lieutenant Data sat on different sides of the table, facing eachother.

"What's that apparatus you have there?", Data asked while the bounty hunter installed the Voight-Kampff machine.

"It will help me determine whether you're really what you claim to be or just another alien lifeform like that 'Klingon' or what it was."

"If it is just that what you want to know, I can easily prove the nature of my existence by showing you my..."

"No!", Deckard gestured to the android to shut up, "I want to evaluate by means I am trained with, I want to be one hundred percent sure. No time for stories and counterfeit 'proof' this time."

"Alright, I am willing to cooperate with you and go through your procedure. Are you ready to begin with it?"

"Yes. Please hold your head as still as you can so that this pointer here stays focused on your left eye... I'm going to ask you a series of questions, just say how you'd react in the given situations, the rest is done by the machine and my professional assessment. Reaction time is a very important aspect of the test, so please concentrate."

The machine started emitting some blueish light and a clicking sound, as Deckard began by asking the first question.

"You're casually sitting on your couch watching TV, when suddenly..."

"Pardon, what is 'TV', i cannot understand what this expression is referring to?"

"Television. You understand?"

"Oh, I see. Please proceed."

"So you are sitting. Watching television. Suddenly, you notice a wasp crawling up your arm. How do you react?"

The V-K machine didn't show the slightest reading while Data told his answer. "It might depend on the emission I was watching. If the programme wasn't more interesting than the animal I would probably decide to investigate the insect." A complete nonsense answer, the subject didn't at all get the point of the question. This, paired with the fact that the machine neither indicated an empathic reaction, Deckard was sure the test would be over very soon. He continued with a more provoking question.

"Fine. Next question. You are married to a woman you love very much. One day, you come home from work earlier. You enter your apartment to see in the living room... Your wife having hardcore sex with your best friend!"

"Well I would ask her why she feels the need to cheat on me with a blind man. I should be satisfactory to her..."

This answer was kind of acceptable, but the retinal reaction was still inexistent. That almost suffices, Deckard decided, maybe one more question then I'm already done with that.

"Why are you asking this kind of question, Mr. Deckard? Is there reason for me to feel offended?", Data asked.

"I don't ask just for kicks, 'Mr.' Data. The aim of the questions is to provoke an emotional reaction, and I'm not the one who wrote them..."

"I see, please proceed."

"Good. Now let's try this: You're walking in the desert. Suddenly, you discover a tortoise trotting along on the ground. You kneel down to examine her. You grab her and turn her around. She is lying on the back, the sun burning on her unprotected belly with impunity, she futilely moves her legs trying to turn herself around, but she can't. Not without your help. But you don't help. Just why, Data? Why are you doing that?"

"I... I would never do such a thing. I cannot imagine ever doing such cruel things to an animal. What a sadistic person are you, Mr. Deckard? There is nothing more I can say to that. Please proceed to the next question."

"There is no next question. The test is concluded. You're a very primitive type of 'andy."

Deckard smiled. This was just too easy. The firm who had manufactured this 'Data' entity hadn't even tried to give it a program for emulating human reactions. Overwhelmed with the joy of successful detection and because of the routine of delivering the test which he had applied so many times, Deckard for a moment forgot where he was, that this was not his area of jurisdiction. He grabbed his laser pistol inside the suitcase and pointed it quickly at the andy, shooting.

Data was equipped with much better reactions than it's emotional program (or the lack thereof) had implied. The android quickly jumped up to evade the laser beam, which in course hit it's well-protected stomach area, doing only minor damage. But Deckard was too experienced in dealing with such surprises, it took him less than a second to deliver his second and final shot, this time hitting the machine directly into the head, which immediately exploded. The android then dropped to the ground, disabled.

Deckard noticed the shrill alarm sound. They'd be coming for him. He didn't even have enough time to think about how bad a mistake he had just made, whether he should surrender or try to fight the others. Before he could say 'well, now I'm licked' a security team stormed the room and stunned him professionally, giving him no time to react.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Journey to Earth 

"Captain's log, stardate 45286.3. After the terrible attack in which Lieutenant Data has been murdered, we have got orders from Admiral Nechayev to return to Earth in order to transfer the prisoner to Starfleet headquarters and getting a new science officer assigned. All members of the crew are shocked by the loss of our dear friend and comrade, so it is a good thing that we take a quiet trip to the Sol system instead of returning to patrol the Romulan border, as was originally scheduled for tomorrow. The U.S.S. Desperado has been informed about our early departure from Nerewia II and will proceed with scanning the planet, but there won't be much to find out as the unknown radiation emitting from it has stopped about two hours after Mr. Deckard appeared there, in the same mysterious way as it began in the first place."

Looking at his first officer, Picard asked "Is that entry about accurate, Will? I happen to have big troubles concentrating, slept very bad the last night. I still can't believe I let this individual kill Data." They were both sitting in the Captain's ready room, looking very tired and as if having a headache.

"It was not your fault, Captain", Riker said in a not very believable tone, "and I'm also feeling bad. I think all of us will need some time dealing with it."

------------

Sitting in his prison cell, Deckard was thinking about his situation. Most likely, this whole ship was android-infested, Data having been just the most obvious specimen. While they were originally only outlawed on Earth, the spacefleet didn't tolerate them within it's ranks, either. They might have hijacked this vessel, such things had happened before. But then, Deckard had never seen plans of a spaceship with configuration similar to this one. The idea of an android group powerful enough to manufacture their own battleship frightened him, but how could he know, they might just have taken over the whole Centaurus colony, giving them control over an industry as potent as whole Earth was just after the war. But what did they want from him?

His reasoning was interrupted when the door opened and a very female-looking woman entered the room where he was held hostage. He remembered the woman, she had also been present in the briefing room the other day, so obviously she was one of the more important parts in this conspiracy. She had long, dark hair and an almost exotic body with big bosom and bottom, Deckard liked looking at her.

"My name is Troi, I'm the ship's Counselor. I'll interrogate you." She was trying to sound as serious as she could but in fact she was quite insecure, Deckard noticed amused.

"So you're something like a psychologist?", he asked.

"Yes."

"Are you trying to find out if I'm insane? Haha. Well, I won't believe a single word of what you say, so you can't manipulate me into believing your fake stories. We'd better use our time talking about you, hottie. Do you know _what_ you are?"

"I do for sure...", Troi answered, annoyed.

"You may think you're a human psychologist, but telling from your looks I'm pretty sure I know the purpose you were originally built for", Deckard remarked, smiling a very dirty smile.

The Counselor got angry, "You're a madman! I should inform you that I have telepathic abilities, so I know what you're feeling and thinking about. Even from a murderer I would've expected a little more politeness when dealing with a woman."

"Maybe I'm mad, but at least I'm a man. That's more than you'll ever be... So, you claim to be telepathic, let's see if that's true: The idea I'm thinking about right now, for the two of us, does that sound like a nice suggestion? I'm sure you'd enjoy that..."

"You pig!", she shouted. The thoughts of Deckard being too much for her, Troi ran out of the prison room, crying.

After all, she might have been telling the thruth about her nature, Deckard concluded. Well it didn't matter.

------------

Later the same day, the Captain of the ship personally paid Deckard a visit.

"Ahoi Cap'n," Deckard joked, "how do I earn the honor of being visited by you? You want to find out if your guest is being treated well? The food still has a lot of potential for improvements but..."

"If I were not such a civilized man, I'd have you thrown out the next airlock immediately", Picard interrupted. He was displaying a perfect poker face, but his voice still gave his mood away. "Listen, Deckard. I don't know what's wrong with you and if you really believe that paranoid story you're telling, but I'd want to know what's going on there in that sick head of yours."

"Why are you so mad at me, 'Captain'?", Deckard asked honestly, "Because I destroyed some of your property?"

"You killed my second officer!"

"I retired _it_! You can't 'kill' something that has no life."

"Mr. Data was sentient. He did have a life until you took it! He also had friends and, hell, he even owned a cat!"

"Oh, that happens. Seldomly, but i've seen andies having animals before. Legally, they can't own any property, of course. Tell me about the cat, can i have her?"

"The hell you can!"

Deckard had anticipated that response. He wan't really on the Captain's good side, after all. "Tell me, Picard, are you an android, too?", he asked.

Picard laughed. "You're a very paranoid man, Deckard", he said, "I'm as human as you. Even though I have a heart and you're just a pervert maniac, biologically we're equal."

"Would you prove it? What about a little test?"

Picard first hesitated, but his nature as an explorer finally overcame him and he agreed to go through Deckard's procedure. Maybe it would help him better understand the man's motives, he thought.

Under extreme security measures, the V-K apparatus was brought into the cell and the two men placed themselfes near to each other, only Deckard's machine and the force field between them. After having installed everything, the bounty hunter began.

"Please concentrate on the questions and answer as fast as you can. What is your name?", he asked.

"Jean-Luc Picard. Is that already the test?", the Captain replied.

"Not really, this was basically for warming you up and calibrating my instruments. I'm beginning now: Think about your family, your loved ones. Imagine there's a terrible accident and they all die. You're completely alone now, lost with nobody near to you. How would that feel, Jean-Luc?"

It took the Captain a few seconds to answer, the needles of the machine flipping around erratically while he reflected over it. "I... I can imagine this desperate situation." was all he finally said.

The strong reaction surprised Deckard, maybe Picard was no android after all. But what sense would this make? Was the Captain voluntarily collaborating with a group of androids wanting to abduct him, an innocent human being? He carefully chose his next question.

"Fine. Now what about this: What do you think, Captain, how would it feel to be a cybernetic organism? The cold, heartless calculating nature of such a creature, it's very frightening, don't you think? Could you imagine how it is?"

The Voight-Kampff machine registered an extreme peak response, a reaction as strong as Deckard had never seen it in his career before. But Picard did not say a single word, his face looked as if freezed, his eyes staring right through Deckard, as if looking into the void.

Abruptly, the Captain got up and turned around. Only showing Deckard his back, he spoke up. "I'm done with you! Luckily for you, Starfleet has abolished the death penalty centuries ago, but I will personally make sure that they put you into the worst prison we can find for the life sentence you'll get. In about five days, we will arrive in San Francisco, ironically being the place where you claim to be coming from, where we'll finally get rid of you."

To the security guard he said "Lieutenant, no more visitors for this individual!", then he walked out of the room, still looking freezed as if he had just been confronted with his worst nightmare.

Deckard was puzzled. After only two questions, the test was all but inconclusive but it seemed very much as if Picard was a real man. A bunch of rogue androids lead by a human? It didn't make sense. Maybe he had just asked him the wrong questions.

------------

The next day, the door opened and an adolescent boy entered the room.

"You know that you're not allowed here, Ensign!", the guard said.

"Come on, Charley, please! I need to know who the man is who killed Data and got Counselor Troi and the Captain so pissed. Just give me a minute."

"Okay, 'Wes. But make it quick and don't tell anybody I let you talk to him."

The boy walked to the cell and looked at Deckard sitting on his bed, the way little children look at predatory animals in a zoo.

"What do you want?", Deckard asked, bored.

"Data was my friend."

"I bet you don't have many _live_ friends, right?"

"W-w-what d-do you mean?"

"Nevermind. Aren't you a little too young for wearing an uniform, son?"

"I'm... special", Crusher stated proudly.

"I know. I can tell you're a chickenhead."

"A chicken what?"

"It doesn't matter. I refuse talking to your kind. Go away, kid!", Deckard ended the chat.

"You heard the man, Weasley, leave us alone", the guard intervened, amused.

His face red, the boy left.

Smiling at Deckard, the guard excused. "Sorry for letting the little son of a bitch loose on you. Maybe you're a murderer, but not even you deserve being exposed to that little pest."

They both laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Trial 

Sitting in Admiral Nechayev's office, Picard felt very small and weak. He didn't like the concept of having superiors in general, but Nechayev was the worst. She always made him feel like a little schoolboy who hadn't done his homework.

"Why did you let Deckard take his gun with him when he went to talk to the android?", Nechayev asked in an inquisitory tone.

"Deckard appeared to be a trustworthy man. I was very wrong on that..."

"Indeed! If it were not for the outstanding achievements you've made in your previous service, I'd have you removed from the Enterprise and given you command over the most evil-smelling trash freighter we can find, Picard!"

Picard nodded. He knew he deserved the speech the Admiral was giving to him. She continued:

"As things are, I think I'll let you get away with it, for the moment. Just never, never make such a mistake again, Captain", she over-pronounced the word 'Captain' as if to underline the fact that there was a lot he could lose, "or I'll have you regret the moment your careless command-style came to my attention for the rest of your miserable career. However, I don't have the time to talk to you all day, I still have three meetings to attend today and want to personally interrogate prisoner Deckard, so that I know what awaits us tomorrow at the first session of his trial. Here are your orders: You'll beam back to your ship ASAP then set a course for Vulcan, where you'll receive your new science officer, Commander Sallik. Afterwards, you may return to Earth, by then we'll have decided whether your incompetent behaviour should have further consequences. Besides, I think your crew might want to spectate in the last stages of Deckard's trial. After all, Data was their comrade. Have you understood, Picard?"

"Yes, Admiral, sir."

"Dismissed."

Tail between his legs like a punished dog, Picard trotted out of Nechayev's office. She smiled, grabbed a big green apple from the bowl on her desk and bit into it. She loved ordering Captains around very much. It was exactly for these moments why she stood up every morning.

------------

The prison cell looked almost the same as the one he had spent the last week in, the biggest difference being that this guard was wearing another uniform. At least the air was good. When they told him that they were going to bring him to Earth, Deckard anticipated the badly polluted post-nuclear place he was used to. This place really was Earth, alright, but very changed, now it looked and smelled rather like a garden world. So his situation could have been worse, he realised.

The door opened with the hissing sound he was already used to and a middle-aged woman entered. She was at least ten years older than him but with her blonde hair, delicate figure and lips to die for, Deckard couldn't help finding her very attractive.

"I'm Admiral Nechayev. I'll interrogate you now", she stated. It reminded him of the brunette woman who tried to interrogate him aboard the Enterprise: The Admiral was exactly the opposite of Troi in appearance and behaviour. The way the guard had shivered when she entered and her demanding, in-control voice gave her the air of being a real authority.

"Do all of your prisoners get the pleasure of being visited by such a beautiful woman or what did I do to earn this privilege?", Deckard asked.

"Your charms won't help you with me, Mr. Deckard", the Admiral replied coldly, "So... I've read the reports on you. Do you still believe that a conspiracy of androids is going on and you're the victim?"

"They were so nice to give me a shuttle-ride down to the planet, so I could have a good look at everything. I don't believe in time-travel and such things, but I do accept that this here is Earth. And your organization doesn't seem to be all governed by androids so, well, I'll have to admit that my initial judgment was wrong. I don't know for sure what this world, universe, reality, whatever you'd call it is all about but it doesn't bother me. I am here, that's all what counts."

Nechayev smiled, she liked the way Deckard looked at things. Glancing over her shoulder, she said to the guard "Listen Lieutenant, I want you to lower the force field and let me into the cell. Then you restore the field and leave the room to wait on the corridor. I want to have a four-eyes conversation with the prisoner. I'll call you when I'm finished."

"Yes, Admiral", the security officer complied.

When the guard was gone, Nechayev sat down to the left of Deckard. "Let's talk about the crime you've commited", she demanded.

"I can't see any crime in what I've done. It was about as criminal as scrapping an old car", he said, making her laugh.

"I understand what you mean, but Data was a Starfleet officer and killing, or if you want so, 'destroying' an officer counts as a capital crime in our organization. Therefore, we can't just let you go, Mr. Deckard."

"You may call me Rick", he offered, smiling. "So there will be a trial and I'll get a prison sentence?"

"Yes, for sure", Nechayev replied, "there is crystal-clear evidence of what you've done. You can't talk yourself out of this situation."

"Even if I could, I would not try to. That's just not my style."

Laying her hand on Deckard's left leg, Nechayev whispered "I'm very pleased to hear that, Rick. I prefer men of action, and judging from your actions, I must say that you appeal to me very much."

The Admiral's lovely face now was only a little more than ten centimetres away from him, her eyes looking extremely seducive.

He kissed her.

After he had 'eaten' all of her lipstick, they had intense sexual intercourse for about an hour. It would have taken longer but Nechayev was a little afraid of the guard coming back to see what was going on, so she hurried a lot, making the experience even better.

When they were finished and dressed again, she kissed him another time, saying "See you tomorrow, Rick", then called in the guard and left without saying anything more.

------------

The next day, very early in the morning, four armed guards arrived at Deckard's cell.

"We're here to escort prisoner one-zero-nine to the courthouse. Here are the orders", their leader informed the prison guard, who after a brief look at the data pad nodded. "Very well, take him with you", he said.

When they had left the building and entered a path through a garden-like area, leading to another administratory-looking building some 300 metres away, the leader of the guards walked near to Deckard and started talking to him in a very silent voice.

"Listen, there are many people thinking of you as a hero. We will help you escape. There's nothing much for you to do, just don't panic when you'll soon be transported to another place. Everything's arranged."

Confused, Deckard answered, "If you're not joking, officer, then... well thank you!"

"You don't have to thank me, it's an honor for me being able to meet you in person, Mr. Deckard."

When they passed a part of the garden with exceptionally dense vegetation, the guard suddenly stopped and pressed his commbadge. "Now!"

A wave of blue light appeared around Deckard, making him feel very dizzy. Only a second passed, before he was able to properly interpret the sensation, he found himself in a grey room. Turning around he could see the windows and cockpit, he was in a space vehicle.

"Autopilot engaged", a computer voice stated. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Deckard. There is a recorded message for you. Displaying."

On the viewscreen appeared the face of Admiral Nechayev, smiling happyly.

"My loved Rick! When you see this, everything has worked out fine and you're already safe. Before you think something wrong: I don't help you because of our 'interrogation' we had yesterday, I had already decided to let you escape days before. You're the best lay I've ever had, though. See, there are many people within Starfleet thinking that it was a terrible disgrace to have a robot serving within our ranks. You've done us a big favor. While officially we'd have to put you into prison, there are still people around who know how to treat a true hero, in fact you'd be surprised at how many we are! Therefore we organized you this shuttle, it's the best we have, even equipped with a cloaking device so nobody will find you. It will bring you to a space station in the Orion area, a nice place for black market activity and a lot of other interesting things, then drop you there and self-destruct. We've collected a sum of money that will give you a good start and even supplyed you with a new identity. You can begin a whole new life as a freighter Captain, privateer, hired gun or whatever you wish. For a man with your talents, there are endless possibilities... Well, that's about all I wanted to tell you. In some weeks I might come visiting you, see how you're doing. Bye, have a nice journey, dear. Kisses."

"Well I'm beginning to like this reality!", Deckard said to himself.

------------

"Captain, we have an urgent call from Starfleet HQ!"

"On screen."

The much-dreaded face of Admiral Nechayev appeared. As always when he had to talk to her, Picard didn't feel too well.

"Oh, Admiral. What are the important news you want to tell us?"

"About half an hour ago, your Mr. Deckard was due to be transferred from the prison to his first official hearing," the Admiral said with her usual, cold voice. "He didn't arrive there. Somehow he managed to overcome his guards and escape, temporarely."

"What?", the Captain was infuriated, "are you telling me you let the man who killed my second officer escape?"

"He won't get far. I don't know how he managed to get away, yet, but I can assure you he won't get away. The area around the prison complex has been locked from all sides, there's no place he can hide. I'm personally overseeing the hunt and I'm positive it's only a matter of minutes until we have him again. Nevertheless, I thought you'd have the right being informed about this inexplicable... scandalaous event."

"Is there anything the Enterprise can do to help you deal with it?", Picard offered.

"We have all the resources to deal with the situation. I see your ship is at maximum warp more than twelve hours away from earth, but if you wish to return and try to help us in the search, you're allowed to do so. After all, this is a personal affair for your crew. Of course it is most likely that the problem will be solved before you arrive... I'm going to end this call now, we're questioning the guards who were supposed to escort Deckard at the moment and I have to coordinate the search efforts. I'll call you again when we have him, I think it'll only be a matter of a few more minutes. Nechayev out."

Picard and Riker looked at each other, the Captain angry, his XO surprised.

"Helm, full stop. Turn around and set course for the Sol system, maximum warp. Hurry up!", Riker ordered. "I don't get it, how could that happen?", he asked Picard.

"I don't know, Will. But we're going to find out. That Deckard individual is a crude and primitive man, but he also has the quality to surprise, being smarter than one would think. Maybe that's how he overwhelmed his guards... We will see."

------------

With assistance from the U.S.S. Enterprise, Earth was completely locked down and every square-centimetre of it's surface scanned repeatedly. Every ship attempting to leave the planet was searched thoroughly, but no sign of Deckard could be found. The conspirative officers involved in his escape kept calm about it, their plan had worked perfectly. Nothing about the true backgrounds of the culprit's disappearence was ever learned.

In the meantime, Rick Deckard was already far away, advancing on his way into a new life of wealth and opportunities.

The planet Nerewia II never again started emitting the unknown radiation. In the end, this phenomenon and the sudden appearance of Deckard there just made another entry in the long, long list of mysteries Federation science department was never able to solve out.


End file.
